Henry keller and constantine keller



(No Model.) H. 86 G. KELLER.

PIANO ACTION.

No. 487,483. Patented Dec. 6, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

HENRY KELLER AND CONSTANTINE KELLER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PIANO-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 487,483, dated December6, 1892.

Application filed February 25, 1892. Serial No. 422,751. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY KELLER and CONSTANTINE KELLER, citizens ofthe United States, residing at the city, county, and State of New York,haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Actions, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates particularly to improvements in the action-railand bottom rail of upright pianos, and also to several details in theaction, as hereinafter more fully explained.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of our improved action. Fig. 2 showsa section of our action-rail. Fig. 3 shows a modification of theaction-rail. Fig. 4 shows our improved flange used on the butt, whip,and damper. Fig. 5 shows a section of the bottom rail, and Fig. 6 is atop view of the knuckle-butt.

Similar letters of reference designate similar parts in all thedrawings.

A is our improved action rail, which is made entirely of metal,preferably brass, soft steel, or similar metal. This action-rail isprovided along its lower edge with flanges B B B for the whips and alongits upper edge with flanges O O O for the hammer-butts and flanges D D Dfor the dampers. These flanges are integral with the action-rail and arebent forward or backward to accommodate the various portions of theaction which they are designed to support.

E is the damper-rod flange, provided with the felt bushing e, whichbushing is firmly held in place within the flange E by having both ofits ends compressed between the bentover end of the flange E and thebody of the action-rail A, as shown in Fig. 1. This holds the bushingsecurely without danger of its slipping and is much better than gluing,as glue will not adhere to the metal action-rail.

F is the rail-prop, which is also formed of a strip of metal attached tothe action-rail and then bent into position. This rail-prop being a partof or firmly attached to the action-rail A can be bent up or down orsidewise, as may be found necessary in adjusting the action, suchbending being allowed by the ductility of the metal, and at the sametime the rail-prop will stay in whatever position it is put without riskof becoming loose in its hold, as is the case wilh metal rail-props whenscrewed into wooden action-rail, when the bending of the prop is likelyto result in a crushing of the wood of the action-rail, loosening theprop in its hold in the rail.

G is the bottom rail, which is also made of metal and consists,primarily, of a strip of metal provided along its lower edge withflanges g g to connect with the tongue H, pivoted to the sticker 1. Theflanges on both action-rail and bottom rail we prefer to make split, asshown, to admit of the pivot-pins of the various parts being slippedinto them throught he slots after such pins have been placed in positionin the various portions of the action, thus bringing the pivot-pins intotheir seats. (Designated b b b in Fig. 2.) The split portions are thendrawn tightly together by means of the screws J J, firmly grasping andholding the pivot-pins, which then become rigid in the flanges of therails, but turn in the bushings of the wooden portions of the action,which the several flanges support. This gives to the action firmness notsecured in wooden connections, renders the action more true in itsoperation, less liable to get out order, and more easy to adjust if outof order. By the form given to the flange O we secure the furtheradvantage of being able to remove the hammer and hammer-butt from apiano without disturbing the strings or taking out the action, as thescrew J can be reached from above with a screwdriver and loosened, whenthe portions which the flange 0 supports may be detached without furthertrouble.

Our improved rails may also be formed by doubling a piece of sheet metalupon itself, as shown in Fig. 3, producing the same eflect as though theflanges had been split or had been produced in a split condition bysoldering, sweating, riveting, or otherwise fastening together separatepieces of metal. It is possible, also, to make metal rails by having oneportion of the flanges detached from the body of the flange, but drawninto place by the setscrews J J; but this is unsatisfactory on accountof the difficulty of adjustment and the trouble and expense ofmanufacturing.

An additional advantage of having the flanges made integral with therail and of metal is that after the action is in place the severalflanges can be reached and bent with bending-tools, as may benecessaryin adjusting the several parts of the action. The advantage ofthis will be at once apparent to piano-makers.

We make the flanges for the butt, whip, and damper out of piecesseparate from these several parts and substantially like Fig. 4. Theseflanges are mortised into their respective parts. (See dotted lines inthe damper, whip, and butt.) By this construction we are able to secureextra width of the flanges to receive the bushing for the pivot-pinswithout increasing the thickness of the bodies of the parts which theysupport. This gives a firmer bearing to the pivot-pins and renders theaction more firm and less liable to sidewise movements. We also fraiseout the sticker where it enters between the forked arms of the tongue H,which tongue is also provided with forked arms at its opposite end whereit engages with the bottom rail. The pivot-pin, being firmly grasped inthe flange g of the bottom rail, gives considerable firmness of movementto the tongue H, which firmness is maintained in the sticker I, avoidinglateral motion, which is a very serious thing if happening in thesticker.

The action-rail and bottom rail being of metal, we avoid the bad effectsof atmospheric changes on wood. The metal will not warp, split, orcrack, as would often be the case with wooden rails, and should themetal rails become bent they can be straightened again, which cannot bedone with wooden rails, and there will be no trouble from woodscrewsworking loose or breaking off, as is now often the case. The rails canbe made in single pieces or in sections, as may be desired.

Having thus described ourinvention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. An action-rail formed of a single piece of sheet metal and providedwith flanges formed of bent portions of the same sheet of metal andintegral therewith, to support the parts of the action, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

2. An action-rail formed of a single piece of sheet metal, provided withflanges formed of bent portions of the same sheet of metal to supportthe whip, butt, damper, damper-rod, and rail-prop, substantially as andfor the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with a metal actionrail, of the damper-rod flange E,provided with the bushing e, secured therein, substantially and in themanner specified.

4E. The metal action-rail provided with the butt-flange O, bent over sothat the screw J shall be in a vertical position, or nearly so,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The hammer-butt made of the mortised piece M and the double-forkedflange-piece L, fitting into said mortise, substantially as and'for thepurposes set forth.

6. An action-rail made of a single piece of sheet metal, provided withflanges of bent strips of the same sheet of metal, said flanges beingslotted to ad mit the pivot-pins laterally, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

7. In a piano-action, the combination of a metal action-rail formed of asingle piece of sheet metal and provided with flanges B B B, O C O, D DD, E, and F, formed of portions of the same sheet of metal and integraltherewith, with the butt, damper, and whip, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

8. The combination, with the sticker and tongue, of the metal bottomrail G, provided with the slotted flanges g g, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

9. The combination, with the bottom rail and sticker, of the tongue H,forked at both ends, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

10. The combination of the metal actionrail A, provided with the flangesB O D E F, of the hammer-butt, damper, and whip, the sticker I, tongueI-Land flanged metal bottom rail G, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

HENRY KELLER.

CONSTANTINE KELLER.

Witnesses:

WM. D. NEILLEY, HERBERT J. HINDES.

